Setting

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Teresa Fox Headteacher Brighstone Church of England Aided Primary School New Road Brighstone Newport Isle of Wight PO30 4BB

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of England Aided Primary School

Following my visit to your school on 14 May 2019, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the monitoring inspection findings. Thank you for the help you gave me and for the time you made available to discuss the actions you are taking to improve the school since the most recent section 5 inspection.

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of England Aided Primary School

The monitoring inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 and has taken place because the school has received two successive judgements of requires improvement at its previous section 5 inspections.

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of England Aided Primary School

Senior leaders and governors are taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement identified at the recent section 5 inspection in order for the school to become good.

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of England Aided Primary School

The school should take further action to:

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of England Aided Primary School

 further develop the quality of teaching by ensuring that teachers’ development points are routinely revisited to ensure that improvements have been secured.

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Evidence

During the inspection, meetings were held with the headteacher and other senior leaders, the governing body and a representative of the local authority to discuss the actions taken since the last inspection. The school improvement plan was evaluated. Learning was observed in four lessons, all with senior leaders and discussions with pupils were also held during this time.

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Context

Since the previous inspection all members of leadership and teaching staff have remained the same. The school has recruited one new teaching assistant, a sports coach and a clerk to the governors. The governing body has remained largely unchanged and has gained two new members. The local authority has provided ongoing support for the school.

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Main findings

Since the previous inspection you have wasted no time in reviewing the areas for improvement and putting in place effective plans to address these. Development plans are closely aligned to the needs of the school and provide a useful structure upon which leaders, governors and local authority officers can deliver and evaluate improvements to the school.

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Main findings

You have improved the monitoring of the quality of teaching, putting in place regular checks to ensure that subjects and content are being delivered consistently well. Useful development opportunities for staff to ensure that they meet your expectations have also been introduced. All staff receive valuable professional guidance and coaching from leaders, often during lessons, which has helped to improve the quality and consistency of teaching across the school. Nevertheless, these records are not routinely collected and analysed, meaning that weaknesses in the quality of teaching are not addressed as quickly as they might be.

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Main findings

Teachers are now thinking more carefully about the learning needs of pupils and plan lessons that build upon pupils’ prior learning. For example, in English, pupils are taught the basics of punctuation and grammar and then use this well to craft interesting texts in a range of subjects. Pupils enjoy the wide and stimulating curriculum, which is being reviewed to ensure that this strength of the school develops further.

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Main findings

Staff have been reinvigorated by the recent opportunities to improve and develop their leadership skills. For example, staff conceived and formed the special education needs and/or disabilities (SEND), welfare, inclusion and family support team (SWIFT), which provides holistic and meaningful support to families in need of help. This link between academic and pastoral teams provides an effective wraparound service for families and children when things get difficult.

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Main findings

Governors are experienced and skilled. They have reviewed the systems for checking, challenging and supporting leaders and ensured that their work considers a broad range of the school’s work. They play to their strengths, using their skills to check the school’s work in a number of ways to gain an accurate understanding of the school’s effectiveness.

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External support

The local authority has provided useful support for the school to ensure that leaders receive suitable guidance, staff attend effective professional development and that governors are given an unbiased view of the school. They, rightly, recognise the leadership capacity of the school and have sought to develop the talents of current and emerging leaders. For example, the island-wide mathematics project has led to improved systems for the teaching of calculation and problem-solving in the school.

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External support

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Portsmouth (CE), the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Isle of Wight. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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